A Poison Tree
by ClockworkCaptain
Summary: Mako just wants the leave the high class party Asami dragged him to but a murder dashes his plans to leave early. Murder Mystery for round 2 to the probending tournament. A world with no Avatar AU. Mako as a Private Detective


Author Note: Ajdar=Dragon in Uzbek

Prompts: Kick, Aqua, A poison Tree by William Blake, a world without an Avatar

A Poison Tree

You know a city's one level above scum when the best an heiress can do is Private Dick, or Private Detective for those not familiar with the vernacular, like me. Asami leans forward, an unlit cigarette in her lips. I snap my fingers and bend a small flame for her. She inhales deeply and blows out a stream of smoke.

"You could at least try to act like you're enjoying yourself, darling."

I look around the room at all the smiling trust fund babies that wouldn't dare walk south of Fourth Street in the daytime. "I'm trying, beautiful, I really am, but I just can't help feel I don't belong here. These people, they hire private detectives when they think their marriage has gone south, they don't socialize with them and they don't marry them."

Asami leans against my shoulder and looks up at me, her aqua dress showing a little more than a lot of cleavage. "Well, if my people don't marry your kind of people, why did you ask?"

"Honestly? I didn't think you'd say yes." I kiss her. "Glad you did, though."

She chuckles and looks out onto the sea of people. "So do you think anyone will come up to you tonight and go-"

"Mako Goodwin, you're a private detective now, right?"

I turn to see the former prince of a whole country turned singer walking towards me, a man who had more confidence than brain, which in his line of business worked well. While still with the Force I had been assigned to be his bodyguard. It wasn't fun. "Yes, I am."

The man puts an arm around my shoulders like we are good friends. "I have a philosophical question for you."

It hasn't been five minutes and I already want to kick him off the giant statue of Sokka into Yue Bay and watch him drown in the beautiful aqua water. Hey, I never said I was a nice guy, just the best in this town. "I'm a simple man, Wu, I don't wax philosophical like your kind."

He laughs. "Ah, Mako, you haven't changed a bit. Can I get a light?" He holds up a cigar and I begrudgingly light it. "So anyway," he takes a puff, "I have a philosophical question for you. What would the world be like now if we had an Avatar?"

I raise an eyebrow. "Some mythical person who can control the elements and has the sole purpose of keeping the world in balance?"

"Yeah! That's the one."

"It would be more of a cesspool than it is now because people wouldn't bother to sort their own problems, they'd just wait for the Avatar to do it. Which would you rather have, a statue of some overpowered bender standing in Yue Bay or the great Chief Sokka, who was able to pull together a band of people and defeat the Fire Lord? And he did it without bending. Sorry, kid, but I'd rather have Sokka standing there."

Wu just rolls his eyes at me then spots a pretty woman and runs off. Asami shakes her head. "Nice speech there, honey, next you'll be reciting poetry."

I can't help but smirk. "Not going to happen, babe," I say, wrapping an arm around her waist. "Hey, I have an idea, why don't we blow this joint and go home?"

She sighs. "I guess that's not a bad option, I can't seem to find any of my friends and your brother is..." She looks over at Bolin, who is surrounded by people. "Eating up the scene like in one of his movers, don't think I can handle all that ham."

I nod and start to walk out the door when the lights go out. They come back in a minute and a woman screams. I look over and there right in the middle of the dance floor is a body. Tahno, a big pro-bender for the Wolfbats, is dead, impaled by an icicle. Wonderful, looks like I'm not going home early.

"Okay! Nobody move!" I yell, getting all the guest's attention. "Nobody leaves. I look at the man who owns the house. "Mako Goodwin, private detective." I flash my credentials. "I'm going to need you to call the police and to find the guest list for this little party. Can you do that, Mr. Gatsby?"

The man nods and quickly runs off. I motion for the butler to come over. "Hey, is there any place we can put these people where they can't skip out?"

"Well, there is the conservatory and the winter ball room."

Check it, this guy's so rich he has a 'winter ball room'. "Okay, we'll take them in the 'Winter Ball Room', we don't need anyone disturbing the body. I turn back to the crowd. "Okay, this man is going to lead you to the 'Winter Ball Room'. Please leave all your belongings here and if you must talk, talk of the usual trivial things you folks talk about."

Asami walks over to me as the people file out of the room. "You don't even have a client, it's unlike you to jump into these things. What's up?"

"I knew Tahno back in the day, wouldn't call him a friend but he's not someone I'd want dead either. Also thought I'd give Chief Lin a hand, since she'll berate me if I don't do anything."

"She still under the delusion you work for her?"

I kneel down and inspect the body. "Yeah, well, old habits die hard." My eye spots a piece of paper inside the melting icicle. I tilt my head to the side to try to read the writing. "A poison tree, I was angry with a friend; I told my wrath my wrath doth end. Well it's nice that the killer left a poem. I love a murderer with a bit of culture, don't you?" I look up at Asami, who is just shaking her head.

"Well, whoever killed Tahno, it's obvious what their motive was," she comments, taking another drag from her cigarette.

I stand up and tilt my head to one side. "Really? It's obvious? So far I've got public murder with an icicle and a poem. The only motive I see is someone, probably a waterbender, wanted this guy dead."

"It was for revenge, Mako. A Poison Tree is about revenge, the last line is how the author's foe is found dead in the morning."

I put my hands in my pockets. "Okay, so what did Mr. Tahno here do that would cause another person to knock him off?"

"I don't know, Goodwin, but I'm sure my detectives will figure it out without your meddling."

I turn to see Chief Lin Beifong, leader of Republic City's finest and my former boss, walk into the room. "Lin! So good to see you! I didn't do it."

She sighs. "You never do, do you, Mako? So you got a client I can't arrest yet? Or do I have free rein this time around?"

I'm about to answer that I don't have one but then a man in a military coat walks into the room. "You're Mako Goodwin the detective, right?"

I sigh. "Guilty."

Lin glares at the man. "Sir, this is an active crime scene, I need you to go back with the other guests."

"I will in a minute. Mr. Goodwin, I need to hire you for my wife. I'm afraid that she'll be the one blamed for his death."

Lin puts her hands on her hips. "Why do you think your wife will be blamed?"

"My wife is Korra Ajdar, formally Korra Wolfe. She's a waterbender, a real good one. Earlier this evening she had an argument with," he looks down at the body, "Mr. Tahno here, and was talking with him again when the lights went out."

I cringe; Korra Wolfe was a spitfire probender who had been one of Tahno's biggest rivals on the field and biggest lovers off the field. That is, until he cheated on her. The media storm about the two was ugly. I look the man up and down. I guess she could do worse, he didn't seem like the normal filth of this city, must be foreign.

"Are you sure she didn't murder him?" I ask.

"Positive, I know my wife. She might hate the guy but she's not a murderer."

I sigh. "Fine, your wife is now my client."

He nods. "Thank you, detective. Here's my card, send me the bill."

I take the card and look over at Lin, smiling. "Looks like we're working together." Out of the corner of my eye I see the man leave the room to presumably go back and sit with the other suspects.

Lin predictably frowns. "Fine, but if your client turns out to be guilty, the next time we meet at a crime scene you'll keep your nose out of it." She starts to walk out of the room.

"But then how would you ever solve the crime?" I ask innocently, following her.

She just gives me a dirty look. "Let's go talk to the people. I intend to find the murderer tonight."

I roll my eyes; spirits forbid she let her own detectives do their job. I glance over at one of them, who is laughing hysterically at a picture of a nude woman. Never mind, I can't blame her for taking over. Republic City's finest dumb as a rock or dirty as a hog-monkey.

By some strange stroke of luck there are very few waterbenders at the party. So the Chief and I start the arduous task of interviewing each of them to see if and why they would kill the probender.

.o.

"I don't even know this Tahno you speak of," states a monotone woman. "I don't even come from this city."

"So why were you here?"

"To visit my cousin and meet William Blake."

"The Poet?"

"Yes, he is very famous in the Northern Water Tribe."

"You know he's dead, right?"

"Yes, we are going to visit his grave."

.o.

"Chief Beifong! Why are you even interviewing me? You know I'm not a killer."

Lin sighs. "Councilman Tarrlok, just sit down and answer the questions."

.o.

"Didn't we already talk to you?"

"You spoke with my twin sister."

"Oh, so why are you here in Republic City?"

The guy (guessing by the sound of his voice) sighs. "To visit our cousin, we are so happy for her."

.o.

"Yeah, I might have killed him, but I wouldn't have done it with bending! Bending is evil! The source of all our problems!"

"Noatak, please, sit down."

"It's Amon! Not Noatak!"

"Fine! Amon! Sit your ass down and answer the questions!"

.o.

An elder Water Tribe lady looks up at us offended at the very implication of being the murderer. "Lin, you know me, you dated my brother. I'm a vegetarian, I couldn't take another life."

"Fine, Kya, you're cleared."

.o.

Korra crosses her arms and glares at both of us. If looks could kill her aqua eyes could do it. "Like I told you before, I didn't kill the weasel and if I did I wouldn't have used waterbending to do it." She held up her arm, a nasty gash across it. "And if I was going to kill him with waterbending, I sure as hell wouldn't have hit myself with the damn icicle!"

Lin leaned forward. "You don't seem too upset that he's dead."

"Well I'm not, ever since we broke up he's been hounding me. Even after I married the General, he would not leave me alone! I had hoped tonight at the party to once and for all clear the air between us and get him off my back."

"So was that why you had the argument earlier?"

She bites her lip. "Kind of, he's under the delusion that he and I are having an affair and I'm pregnant with his kid."

"And you're not?" Lin asks, leaning back. "Seems all the papers still think you and him are an item behind your husband's back."

She crosses her arms. "And the papers will have you believe I stole my cousin's fiancé away from her. No, I would never cheat on my husband and this," she pointed to her belly, "is his kid and no one else's."

.o.

I sigh and rub my temples. "Okay, so the only one who has any reason to kill Tahno claims she didn't and has the scratch that might exonerate her."

"Or, she scratched herself to make herself look innocent," Lin points out.

Asami frowns. "But then why would she put the poem in the icicle? Korra's not the poetry type."

I look over at Asami. "You know her?"

She gives me the smile she always has when she's caught but doesn't want to get in trouble. "We were a thing at boarding school."

"What kind of thing?"

"A romantic thing."

I shake my head trying to keep my mind from swan diving into the gutter. "Okay, so since you knew her, do you think she did it?"

Asami shakes her head. "No, like I said she's not the poetry type and she hates William Blake, we had to memorize his stuff and she found it utterly loathsome."

I sit back and then spring to my feet. "What if Tahno wasn't the intended victim? What if Korra was? They were standing face to face when the lights went out, what if she moved and he was hit instead of her. As you pointed out, Chief, the press loves to make her the villain. Villain's have enemies."

Lin crosses her arms. "Okay, but who would hate her enough to want to murder her?"

.o.

Eska glares at me as she and her brother are escorted into the back of a police car. Korra, arm in arm with her General, walks up to me smiling. "Thank you, detective, but how did you figure out it was my cousins that killed Tahno?"

I put my hands on my hips and try not to look smug. "Because she slipped up and mentioned her love of the poet William Blake, which I'm told you hate. Combine that with the fact that Eska blames you for her failed engagement and you have yourself a motive."

She nods. "True, I always despised poetry, especially Blake. But who told you I hated poetry?"  
>I point to Asami. "I happen to have married one of your old flames."<p>

She looks surprised. "Asami? Asami Sato?" She leaves me and her confused-looking husband standing there while she walks up and starts talking with Asami.

The General shakes his head and looks up at the stars. "This city."

"Crazy must be in the water."

The General smirked. "You said it, detective. So what do I owe you for clearing my wife?"

I look over at Korra and Asami laughing. "Get her away from my wife before they leave the both of us and move to Omashu and I'll call it even."

He smirks. "Deal."


End file.
